Kind words about Ernie Grunfeld
Ernie Grunfeld was a great NCAA player, with Bernard King, at Tennessee. I remember the Bernie and Ernie show. They were an exciting duo that played NCAA ball just before Bird/Magic. Closest NBA comparison as a player to Ernie IMO would be Wally Szczerbiak. When you consider what fraction of a percent of players make it to the NBA, EG was a great basketball player.
Here's a quote about Ernie's good moves as a GM:
... Grunfeld was part of a Milwaukee club that reached the Eastern Conference Finals and in his current job as Washington GM, Grunfeld has made the Wizards a perennial playoff team ...
It was Grunfeld who traded Kwame Brown for Caron Butler. Grunfeld signed Gilbert Arenas and drafted Nick Young.
In New York, Grunfeld, along with Dave Checketts, twice built the Knicks on the fly in the ’90s. With the Knicks under the salary cap in the summer of 1996 (the way things are going maybe they should make a movie about that off-season) Grunfeld signed Allan Houston and Chris Childs and traded for Larry Johnson. That same year, the Knicks won 57 games.
Prior to the 1999 season, Grunfeld traded Charles Oakley for Marcus Camby and sent John Starks and Chris Mills to Golden State for Latrell Sprewell. He also signed Kurt Thomas at a bargain basement price.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/knicks ... z0hK78aolS
One other nugget to add: Ernie drafted Andray Blatche with the 47th pick. Considering that, and what I've noted in my signature, GIVE ERNIE HIS PROPS.